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Friday, May 11, 2007

Goering, Goebbels, Card

From the University of Massachusetts student newspaper (with UD's parenthetical commentary):



Students and staff at the University of Massachusetts made their stance clear yesterday afternoon, as dozens of people gathered on the ramp outside of the Whitmore administration building to protest the administration's decision to present Andrew Card with an honorary degree at this May's commencement. [Dozens means... 24? 50?]

Graduate students led the march into the administration building and into Chancellor John V. Lombardi's office, blocking the hallways with bodies and chants.

Graduate student Justin Jackson, who will be receiving his Master's degree in history this month, helped to organize the demonstration. He also attended the Faculty Senate meeting last week, where Chairman Stephen Tocco spoke in favor of Card [comma needed here] saying the claims by the students of his so-called [drop so-called] war criminal status, [drop comma] were untrue and unfair as an opposition to Card's speech last month [the last part of this sentence is confusing].

Students from the Graduate Student Senate were joined by faculty members and large undergraduate support [What does large undergraduate support mean? Numbers would be useful here too.]. Protestors held signs and loudspeakers from which several professors and graduate students spoke from their perch on a bench.

Jackson said there won't be any physical violence at the graduate commencement, but that they will work to disrupt the ceremony if Card is given his degree.

"We are not going to lie down while [they?] impose this on us," Jackson said.

Former Student Government Association president Elvis Mendez also spoke about the administration's "disregard for the people" [People is an interesting choice. Are university students the people?] and failure to follow its own logic and the requirements for an individual to receive an honorary degree from the University.

"We are not in the business of giving degrees to war criminals," Mendez said.

Counter protestors were also present, holding Bush/Cheney signs, though they did not go inside the building. Graduate student Ed Cutting believes the protest would better serve the removal of Robert Mugabe's honorary degree instead of placing the blame of [should be for] the war on the shoulders of a former Chief of Staff. [He's got an excellent point there.]

"Everyone knows honorary degrees are given to someone with a fancy name so they will come speak at graduation and the media will cover it. They give them to people that can personally give money to the University or raise it," Cutting said. [I'm not sure what the significance of this comment is.]

Sociology professor Gianpaolo Baiocchi likened the administration's actions to the fast-food chain Wendy's, saying the CEO of UMass was putting a human finger in the chili of this May's commencement. [This might be a good opportunity to point out the difference between similes that are nice and fresh and similes that are DOCTOR DEMENTO.]

"We are a public University. We belong to Massachusetts [comma needed here] not political agendas," Baiocchi said. "The world community thinks this war is a disaster so why are we honoring it?"

After the speeches that drew attention from several classrooms in Herter, which also held a banner from its second floor balcony testifying to Card's war criminal status, Jackson read the petition that would later be hand delivered by dozens of students to Chancellor Lombardi.

The petition contained over a thousand signatures from students and faculty seeking to appeal to Lombardi's "sensibilities." The paperwork also stated the administration has 96 hours from yesterday to release a public statement to the press and UMass students retracting Card's honorary degree. [Not sure how clever it is to give the administration a deadline.]

Chancellor Lombardi has yet to comment on behalf of the administration on this matter. Chancellor Lombardi did not speak to students yesterday but sent out a representative.

Protestors are planning to convene outside Whitmore next Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. once more if the administration does not give in to their demands.